Jan 4, 2011 By Adam Brewer For The 4 min read

WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg Central’s boys basketball team started the New Year off right with a 53-52 non-section victory over Brownsville after Ty Negley’s lay-up with under a minute left Monday.

The Raiders (5-3) had three players in double figures and led the majority of the game en route to their third straight win. Waynesburg also avenged an earlier loss to Brownsville.

“One of the halftime adjustments we made was to show more hustle on defense,” Waynesburg coach Dave Serra said. “I thought near the end of the first half, we kind of tired out and gave them some points. It was lack of hustle on our part, but we battled the whole entire game and it’s just a good game to be a part of.”

The Falcons (5-4) have gone the other way recently, as their losing skid stands at three.

“I told the team to hold their heads up high,” Brownsville coach Brian Brashear said. “Whenever you are down the way we were in the second half, it shows a lot about this team to battle and to make the comeback that we did. It’s something positive when you have your backs against the wall and then you get a lead late in the game. It’s a hard one to swallow.”

Brownsville tallied 21 points in the fourth quarter, and took its first lead of the game, 46-45, after a three-pointer by Derek Jones with 3:55 left in game. Waynesburg quickly countered with back-to-back three pointers by Tah Yogo and Kolbi Phillips to recapture the lead at 51-46.

The Falcons once again rallied back and took their second lead after a three-point play by Wes Frost to give Brownsville a 52-51 lead with 1:18 left.

After a timeout by Waynesburg, Negley scored the last of his team-high 20 points on a basket in the paint after an inbound pass to give the Raiders their first win of 2011.

The Raiders started the opening quarter by scoring the first seven points and held an 11-6 at the end of the first stanza.

In the second frame, Waynesburg increased its lead to 20-9 on a 9-3 run, including two treys by Negley, but Brownsville countered back with an 11-3 spree to cut the deficit to 23-20 going into intermission.

Waynesburg started the third period by scoring the first seven points, but Brownsville bounced back as it connected on six three-pointers in the second half and outscored the Raiders 11-6 the rest of the third quarter.

“In the beginning of the game, our shots were not fallen,” Brashear said. “But I told the guys to not shy away from shooting and to continue to go after it. When you keep shooting the ball, they are eventually going to fall. We just didn’t have enough to hold them off late, and it came down to free throws. A lot of my guys missed some free throws, and in a close game that hurts you.”

Falcons’ Josh Marstone totaled a team-high 20 points, with 10 points in the final eight minutes of action. Jones, Zack Landman and C.J. Gaddis each added eight points.

For the Raiders, Yogo finished the night with 12 points, while Derek Lohr scored eight of his 10 points in the second half.

“Ty had a great game tonight,” Serra said. “He went to the hoop well, but he has to understand that he can’t do that all the time. He has a good outside shot and is a fine defender. I thought Derek was good on the boards for us and Tah had some big shots for us down the stretch. It was a total team effort tonight.”

Both teams will be back in section play today, as Brownsville travels to Charleroi and Waynesburg heads up north to South Fayette.